For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Monday, June 30, 2008

So, several of you have commented on my new layout (okay actually just a couple of you, but I know that the thousands of people who read my blog daily -okay yearly - will love the new look - assuming it doesn't make your eyes go crossed or cause you to have unexplained seizures). If you don't like the new look, I am terribly sorry, but it will be a while until I can change it again...who has time for that? Which is exactly why I had the boring green and brown thing going on for so long......I have 2 small kids, we are building a house, etc, etc, etc.....I have no spare time!!! I can; however, change the font colors if they are not to your liking.....let me know if the text color is dark enough or if I need to kick it up a notch (no, really, please tell me - I can't even tell anymore).

Well, I told you I would be back with something blogworthy to report and once again.... I have lied. I suppose you read the title and thought I was going to go into a deep dissertation about the end times (which just happens to my favorite subject, btw). Sorry, not today (well, at least not right now anyway). This title is just a description of the things going on in my house today. Here is what I mean by the title:

Famine - We are upgrading our life insurance (so we can pay for this in the event of our untimely demise) and I could not eat anything since last night so the lady could come to my house and take my blood. Take out MY blood in MY own house. There is something strangely wrong with that. (Shouldn't things like drawing blood occur in a somewhat sterile environment? Apparently they do not fully comprehend the filth that lies within the walls of my home right now). The worst part was that she brought scales with her. The kind that have the HUMONGOUS read out on top. Nope, no mistaking how much I weigh. The even worse part is that I have not eaten since last night and I still weigh more than I thought I did. Are you EVEN kidding me????

Pestilence - Remember the ants I mentioned in several earlier posts? The ants that returned to their summer home which is unfortunately also my home? Remember that I called the exterminator and the ants were gone? Yeah, well they are back and have moved into my bathroom. There are so many houses that are nicer than mine, why do they insist on vacationing here? I am soooo calling the exterminator back today............

War - This morning, I took the boys to see the big concrete trucks that are pouring the concrete in the basement of our new house. On the way home, we stopped at the store to get milk and several other things that I could not eat until the lady came to drain me of all my life giving substance (why do they take blood out? - apparently we need it or God would not have put it in there). Anyway, my boys had a little showdown in aisle #3 of the Dollar General. It was a free for all - there was slapping and yelling weeping and wailing (and that was just from me). Needless to say everyone (except me) got a spanking and there were no treats for anyone (except me). That rarely happens around here so I thought I should write down the ugly details for future recall.

Well, that about sums up my day so far (and it's only 2 pm). Tonight we have a big t-ball game. If we win tonight, we play in the championship game. The coach of the team we are playing tonight is a real pain and he loves to yell at his team, our team, everyone. Hopefully, everyone will remember that we are talking about a team of 7 yr olds and not the Atlanta Braves.

Time to take the kids out to play in the hot TN sun.......glad I have my scooter! (okay, so it isn't really mine, whatever) ;-)

I promise to be back soon with something blogworthy to say............ ;-)

Yes, I have decided to change up my blog a little. I hope you like it because it has taken me forever to replace my links and pictures. It may take me a couple of days to get things back to 'normal' (funny that I would use that word when speaking of myself, huh?).

Anyway, I will be back very soon with pictures and something blogworthy to say (hopefully). Well, at least there will be pictures...........

Friday, June 27, 2008

So, I got this award today from Cassie. If you are here to read some of my deeply spiritual or witty blog posts, please scroll down. Otherwise, please hold your applause while I make my acceptance speech.**Walking to podium in stunning gown**

Uhmm......I would like to thank Cassie for presenting me with this award. While I have no idea who in the world ArteyPico is, I also appreciate his hand in my receiving this special honor. I would also like to thank the little people (Lake and Kaden), my wonderful husband (aka hubs), and my fans (mom, dad) without whom this award would not be possible.

Did I hear someone in the balcony yell "We love you, Beth"? Well, I love you too.

I know my time is almost up because I can hear the music playing, but I would just like to say that this award requires that I pick 5 blogs that I consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community. Mom, I would pick yours, but then I would have to come over and post this graphic on your blog for you (so for that reason I must disqualify you - sorry - I do still love you). I would pick my sister, but she is at the beach for a week - whatever! I would pick my father, but he is in Honduras on a mission trip. I could pick my niece but she is in Nicaragua on a mission trip. I could have picked my other sister, but she hasnt updated her blog since 1982.

So since all my family have been disqualified, I will now reveal my choices for the Artey What's his name award......... And the winners are:

Ummm, since I have a co-dependence, need to fit in, a need for counseling, and am scared of hurting someone's feelings (I know its crazy, but this is my speech, people) I will not be nominating anyone in particular at this time. However, if you would like to read some wonderful blogs, please check out all the Mr. Linky's on my sidebar.

Again thank you Cassie for your confidence and the nice words you said about me on your wonderful blog..................

***Music plays louder. I walk my skinny self (again my blog - I can be skinny if I want) in my beautiful gown over to where Matthew McCoughnahey is waiting to escort me to the Vanity Fair party****

Thursday, June 26, 2008

It is 4:36 AM and I thought I would blog one more time before I die. I have been awake for 3 hours tossing and turning and praying for relief from the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head. Allergy season officially began for me sometime between early afternoon and 1 AM. I just took some Tylenol Nightime medicine, so I figure nightime for me should last until at least 9 am (assuming my kids cooperate - not likely, but a girl can dream, right?)

Anyway, today is our anniversary. We only dated for 6 months before we got married, but apparently we weren't as crazy as some people thought, because here we are nine years and 2 kids later and we still love each other and we are having lots of fun. The time has flown by. Our honeymoon was spent here. Our first anniversary was spent here. On our second anniversary I came home from the hospital with Lake. Tonight, our ninth anniversary, will be spent at the ball field praying that our little short stop will not let any balls get by him. I would write a loving tribute to my man on this blog, but he is so busy he would never get to read it -so I will just tell him in person if you don't mind. Next year will be #10........ten years is a long time.....I am thinking a return trip to the site of our honeymoon is in order, what do ya think? (I would post wedding pics, but I didn't have the old Easy Share then so how can I post pics if they aren't on a digital camera? -No, really someone tell me--Enquiring minds want to know).

Here is a side shot of my husband of nine years looking at one of Lake's b-day cards. He is also holding our ancient Sony Handycam - see our love of all things photography just never ends.

Here's my little short stop #12 catching a grounder.

So, several of you (well only 2 but who's counting?) asked to see pics of me on the new scooter. It wasn't difficult to take this shot since I have been riding it for 3 days straight. This is not an actual action shot, because my 7 yr old is not very adept at using the camera yet (to be honest, neither is his mother - all you people who own Nikons with the long thing on the front - keep quiet). As you can see I finally semi-fixed my Easy Share problem - who knew one had to upgrade software from time to time?

Since I was already posting a picture, I thought I would just go ahead and bore you to tears. This is a picture of my youngest. We are so proud of how he has learned to dress himself. I came into the kitchen the other morning to find him sitting at the table with his shorts on his head. All I can say is "Really, people, he gets this stuff from his daddy".

Here is a picture of the Birthday boy opening the scooter that mom has taken possession of. The look of joy is because he had not yet learned that his mother would not only take his scooter, but that she would race him with it and win. Is it wrong of me not to let my kids win all the time? The older the kids get, the more fun I have with their toys.

And finally, when did it become mandatory that siblings get gifts for their brother's birthdays? I am 35 and have yet to receive one gift for my sister's birthday. Ya hear that mom and daddy? Never one gift! In 35 years!!!

If I failed to mention it before, my father has been in Honduras on a medical mission trip. He is on staff here as Director of Stewardship. He has always been interested in medicine so this trip is a fun one for him. He will be coming home this weekend. Also, my niece and nephew will be leaving today around 2 pm to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua. They are so excited and so are we. Pray that this trip changes their lives and that they get to see hundreds come to Christ. Who knows, this trip might be the catalyst that leads them into full time missions.

While they are gone, my sister and her husband will be going on their first ever "no kid" beach trip. While I am somewhat jealous (in a Godly way of course), they deserve it and I hope they have a great time with no incidences of sunburn or jellyfish stings (Lisa, you know the remedy for jellyfish stings- stay out of the water!).

Well, hubs alarm should be going off any minute - time for me to go to bed.

Monday, June 23, 2008

So, my hubs is out of town and I find it somewhat hard to sleep (could be the two large Pepsi's I drank at Pizza Hut tonight, who knows?). And what does a blogger do when she can't sleep? Why, blog, of course. Oh, and browse other blogs. It's the only natural thing to do when a blogger has insomnia. So, sit back and prepare to be dazzled by my late night thoughts and ramblings (or you could just click on another, more interesting blog at this time -it's totally up to you).

-I noticed on the MSN headlines today that Ellen DeGeneres is going to get married to her girlfriend. I have so many questions about this whole gay marriage thing. Not about the political side (I already know WHY they are allowing it - California is a liberal state and we have wimpy, weenie politicians who pander to special interest groups which include gay & lesbian communities - not to mention the fact that America is going to hell in a hand basket). No, now that the idiots (I mean that in the nicest way, of course) have voted to allow gay marriage, my questions revolve around the ceremonies. For example, will Ellen and her significant other both wear white gowns? Will they play Here Come the Brides? Will the person officiating pronounce them Mrs. and Mrs. DeGeneres? How do they decide who will change last names? Instead of a Groom's cake, do they have 2 Brides cakes? Who gets the diamond engagement ring? Who do you call regarding etiquette of such an affair? I would think that very few precedents have been set. Don't worry, though, I am sure we will all hear more about it than we ever wanted to because the main stream media loves this kind of thing. If you are reading this and wonder why I am against gay marriage, I would love to share my faith and my thoughts with you. If you are an advocate of gay marriage, please know that I do not want to hear your hateful comments. Thank you.

-Anybody else hate that page that says "Blogger Currently Unavailable. Sorry for any inconvenience"??????

-My son, who turned 7 on Saturday, got a Kick & Go for his birthday. And let me tell you...this ain't your Grandma's scooter (did your Grandma even have a scooter? Probably not) It is soooo much fun. So much fun, in fact, that I was outside riding it in our driveway until about 9:30 tonight. So much fun that my son has asked me several times "Mom, can I have my scooter back?" To which I always reply, "In a minute, honey, you know Jesus says we should share."

-I was scanning the headlines earlier (thus the story about Ellen) and I have come to a conclusion: I could care less what Posh and Becks are doing/wearing/pushing and I do not care in the least whether Tom and Katie are going to have another baby and should we really be glamorizing Britney's 17 yr old sister's pregnancy/delivery? Oh and who in the world is this Amy Winehouse chick anyway?...........Hollyweird news bores me to tears.

-Have you heard about this new thing they have out in electronics stores? It is this tiny little device that allows you to download songs you like and then play them back whenever you want. Okay, it's an iPod and I know all of you already have them, but we just got one (well, we got it for Lake for his b-day -little does he know that he will be sharing the Nano with mom and dad - remember Jesus says we should share). I am very iPod illiterate, but I have actually managed to download 12 songs for Lake today. He has listened to them over and over and he sings with them too --VERY LOUDLY I might add. I have heard Toby Mac's "I was Made to Love You" sung in a variety of keys and pitches today. Praise the Lord my baby loves praise music!!! I still wonder how in the world all those songs can fit into that little iPod and can somebody tell me where the eject button is?

-Tonight was the first night of our t-ball tournament. We won 27 -12. Go Yankees! That red head who plays short stop is the cutest one on the team. Wonder who his mama is? (just kidding)

-Have you all seen this guy on tv named John Basedow? He is some sort of fitness guru ("Fitness Made Simple" or as I like to call it "Fitness Made This Man Look FreakyWeird"). Very interesting body on that man - his head doesn't exactly seem to fit correctly on top of his very toned physique. I love to watch infomercials and I am a sucker for ordering things off TV, but due to the hugeness of this guy's head and the tiny-ness of his body, I am not tempted to purchase his product. It wouldn't be very Christian of me to say any more about him at this time....

-I have been browsing all the blogrolls of people who are on my favorites list. Alana, you sure have a huge blogroll, ya know that? It took me an hour and a half to partially go through your list. You have lots and lots of friends. We should do a "Flip-Flop Swap" with all of them sometime (*wink*), 'cause a girl can never have too many flip flops ya know.

-Remember a while back when I told you about hubs purchasing the 4 lb bag of Hershey kisses from Sam's? Yeah, well he did it again (actually this our 4th bag, but who's counting ?). And yet again, we have finished the bag. I would like to tell you that my kids ate the majority of them, but that would be a lie. I just have one question, Why is it that you can eat a 4 lb bag of Hershey kisses and gain 8 lbs? Doesn't it stand to reason that the most you could gain is 4 lbs????? Injustice in the world - Just another reason to pray for the quick return of our Lord .

-Hubs loves saltwater fish. We have a huge tank in our living room (and there is one built in our new house as well). I think they are pretty, but the truth is....these fish hate me. They do not want me to feed them and they splash water out of the tank at me when I try. I have put off feeding them all day because of their obvious animosity towards me. In a few minutes (just before I go lay down to see what wonderful infomercials are on tv tonight) I will open up the top of their tank and the large blue fish will dart to the top and flip his tail fin at me which will sling water all over my face not to mention the floor. I do; however, love the little "Nemo" fish - they are really sweet and not temperamental at all.

-I got some very important mail today. It was from Walt. Walt who, you ask? Why Walt Disney of course. We got our luggage tags, our vouchers, our tix, etc in a nice little plastic binder. Just a little over a month to go and we will be singing "It's a Small World" with Mickey and Donald and Goofy and Minnie and Daisy and Buzz Lightyear and Nemo and Chip and Dale and Cinderella and Hewey and Dewey and Louie while fanning our sweaty bodies in the Florida sun - Have I mentioned that I love,love, love Disney?.................

-If I were you, I would buy stock in Chap-Stick. My addiction is out of control and I have started buying it by the half dozen. Just a little stock tip from a girl with moist and supple lips. (Might want to consider Hershey as a stock option too)

-The Lord taught me a lesson this past Sunday morning in church. What was the lesson? Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged...........As I was sitting there listening ever so intently to our pastor's sermon, I heard someones cell phone start ringing. It started out really faint and then it got louder and louder and louder. I thought to myself "Can't these people at least turn off their phones for a couple of hours during church?" Then the thought crossed my mind, "I wonder if my phone is on?" Sure enough I reached down and pulled it out, opened it up and with great terror saw the light come on. I looked at hubs and he looked at me with a look of shock and horror as if to say "How could you do this to me? To us? Possibly embarrass our whole family like this?" In order to spare our family the possible embarrassment of the 'inadvertent phone ring during a prayer'....I formulated a plan of action. I waited until our pastor hit a 'high spot' (aka - I waited until he started preaching passionately aka shouting) and I quickly hit the down button on the ringer. Yes, there were beeps and vibrating sounds, but no one could hear them over the heavenly rewards sermon entitled "Preparing for Payday". I am thankful for a passionate preacher.

-I could go on and on (especially since it is 12:34 am and I am not sleepy in the least), but I think you have endured enough for one night......well, those of you who have made it this far (all one of you - thanks mom). I suppose since hubs is coming home tomorrow night, and since I have really done very little today except play with the iPod and go to a ballgame, I should clean my house up. Besides, you never know when Posh and Becks might drop in for a visit............

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Sometimes I wonder if some of us who call ourselves Christians really know what we believe and why we believe it. Considering the fact that 90% of Christians pray 30 seconds or less per day and read their Bibles even less than that, is it possible that the majority of Christians really know the heart of God? I doubt it. Can they contend for their faith in a crowd of unbelieving scoffers? Can they boldly and effectively witness if they don't even truly know what they believe in the first place?

Jude 1:3 says, "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints". Fact is, many "Christians" rely on the faith of their parents and grandparents. They rely on a second-hand word from the Lord instead of getting the facts about their faith straight from His Word with no middle man to possibly 'muddy the waters'. We have an idea of what we believe, but only because it has been spoon fed to us from the time we were children. There is nothing wrong with teaching children about the Bible - we are commanded to do so......the problem comes when the children rely on the word of the parents (milk) instead of the Word of the Lord (meat).

Remember when you were little and you sat in a circle and played the game "Gossip"? Maybe I am the only one who remembers it. Anyway, it's the game where someone starts with a phrase and each person whispers it into the ear of the next until it comes to the last person and the phrase is almost always different by the time it reaches the end of the group. Word of mouth is often unreliable, but the Word of God directly from the pages of the Bible is never unreliable.

Let me give you an example of hand-me-down religion: When I was growing up, we were taught that it is wrong for a black man to marry a white woman (not necessarily taught that in my home, but in our 'circle'). It wasn't something that was plainly stated, but I just knew it was frowned upon in my community. No one thought anything of a white man marrying an Asian woman, but black and white? That was different. I can honestly say that I know people who would contend that the Bible says interracial marriages are wrong. Had I not studied the Bible for myself, I might have taken their word for it and just assumed that "Black men shall not intermarry with white women" was the "Eleventh Commandment". Even worse, one of my best friends from childhood is a white woman married to a black man - what if I had condemned her for something that is not a sin?

By the way, If you don't think hand-me-down religion is dangerous, then maybe you should Google Islam (bet that would change your mind).

I'll give you some examples of questions that we should all know the answers to, but probably many of us don't:

Do you know what the Bible says about speaking in tongues?Do you know how and when one receives the Holy Spirit?What kind of wine did they drink in Bible times?Should a Christian drink alcohol at all?What is the unpardonable sin?Can everyone be saved?What of predestination?How does the "Emergent Church" square up with Biblical examples of the Church?Why do we really tithe? - God doesn't need our money?Should Church and State really mix?Does the Bible teach that you can or cannot lose your salvation?Should Baptism be by immersion or some other method?Do you have the end times events in a timeline in your head or are you still wondering if you are a pre-tribber, post-tribber or other?Do you even know what pre-tribber and post-tribber means?

These are just a few of the questions that we need to be prepared to answer - not just with our personal opinion, but with God's opinion straight from the Word.

You all know I have my own beliefs about each of those questions (And you know I don't care to share them with you all in detail ;-). The truth is that I have been confronted with two of those questions in recent weeks and I felt very ill-prepared to share what the Bible says in each area. (I'll leave the questions a mystery) I can tell you what I believe to be true in both these areas, not because of my own study, but because of what I have been told all my life. The problem with telling what I believe to be true is that I don't exactly know the scripture to back up my beliefs. There are just some subjects that are not discussed every day in normal conversation. At some point these subjects will come up and we need to be prepared to account for what we believe and give the scripture to back it up.

Remember in Hebrews 5 where it says "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!" Some of the questions I listed above are not necessarily elementary, but they are relevant and important for each of us to answer so that we can be prepared to contend for the faith. Not contend for what WE believe or what we have been taught by mere man, but contend for what the Bible teaches. Because sometimes there is a world of difference between the two.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

My oldest baby turned seven today. Well, actually he doesn't officially turn 7 until 11:14 pm since that was the time he was born. Seven years ago I had no idea what motherhood would be like. I couldn't see past the hours and hours of labour, the emergency C-section, or my swollen legs. Funny how things are never what you expect. Lake is a joy to me. Funny and sweet (can be a handful at times too). He loves the Lord and he loves our family. He loves to make "crafts" yet he is all boy. Even though I was 27 when he was born, I kind of feel like we are growing up together. I am learning - he is learning. There is a lot for both of us to learn in this life. Your first born holds a special place in your heart. I pray that he stays innocent as long as humanly possible. I pray that the world doesn't creep in to his heart and steal what rightfully belongs to Jesus. I pray that he will grow up to be a mighty man of God. There are so many things I pray for him to become, but the main thing I pray is that he will be a lover of the Lord for all his life.

I could go on and on, but anyone who is a parent (especially a mommy) knows what I am saying, feeling. We could all write these same words about our babies no matter how big or how old they are.

Several of you commented on the verses I posted from the Message. Here are my blog title verses as written in the Message.....thought they were interesting.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master's word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they'll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God's trumpet blast! He'll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they'll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we'll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.

Friday, June 20, 2008

But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel:"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine.When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!That's how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you!I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.

"So don't be afraid: I'm with you. I'll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from east and west.I'll send orders north and south: 'Send them back.Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from faraway places.I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and childWhom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.'"

Get the blind and deaf out here and ready— the blind (though there's nothing wrong with their eyes) and the deaf (though there's nothing wrong with their ears).Then get the other nations out here and ready. Let's see what they have to say about this, how they account for what's happened.Let them present their expert witnesses and make their case; let them try to convince us what they say is true."But you are my witnesses." God's Decree. "You're my handpicked servant So that you'll come to know and trust me, understand both that I am and who I am.Previous to me there was no such thing as a god, nor will there be after me. I, yes I, am God. I'm the only Savior there is.I spoke, I saved, I told you what existed long before these upstart gods appeared on the scene.And you know it, you're my witnesses, you're the evidence." God's Decree."Yes, I am God. I've always been God and I always will be God. No one can take anything from me. I make; who can unmake it?"

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

-No matter what California says, men cannot marry men and women cannot marry women. God set up that law from the beginning and even Arnold Schwarzenegger cant change that. (Besides that, the parts don't fit!)

-I have never had HBO, so I am not an expert, but I saw that the name of their old hit show is "Sex and the City" ---I always thought it was "Sex in the City". Either way, it is a strange name for a show.

-The only thing that overshadows my disgust for the price of groceries is the price of gas. I paid $5.25 for a gallon of milk yesterday. I paid $4.68 for a gallon of diesel. I think I might have to start drinking gas - it sure is cheaper than milk!

-One of the MSN news headlines today is : "Cringe Worthy: 15 Male Celebs that Are Too Painful to Watch" and beside the caption is a picture of Tom Cruise. It's so funny because it is so true. I am tellin' ya people, the worship of science fiction (scientology = science fiction made religion) will eventually turn you into a freak. Scientology is a religion made up by a science fiction writer....what could be more freaky that than?

-100+ two, three, and four year olds in VBS in our preschool dept. last night. That is a lot of preschoolers. I am the craft lady. I come up with the crafts, purchase the supplies and help the kids make the crafts with the help of a few other gals who are brave enough to volunteer. I wish my Easy Share software was working so I could show you a couple of the ones we did this year....they are great even if I do say so myself. ;-)

-I know things about building houses that a woman should not know. I should simply know paint colors and tile colors. I should never have to use the words "expansion joint" or 'rebar'. It is just plain wrong that I have been into stores that sell only supplies used to pour concrete - these places don't even have one thing sitting near the register that I would be tempted to buy.

-There are 2 types of parents. PARENT TYPE #1 The type that bring their kids to VBS so they can learn about Jesus (and they might even stay to help) PARENT TYPE #2 The type that bring their kids to VBS so that they can go on a date or so that they don't have to deal with their unruly kids for a couple of hours each night. Parent type #2 really gets on my nerves.

-My nails are not only ugly, they are dirty and I cant get them clean. Its a tragedy of epic proportions. I feel like Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (only I didn't make a dress out of curtains). My personal hygiene is suffering due to circumstances beyond my control.

-There is a kid in our VBS named Bubba. Cute as he can be - blonde hair, dark tan, blue eyes - only in TN. (Or also maybe in AL, AR, LA, MS, GA, or TX - gotta love the south).

-Monday was my yearly visit to my favorite medical office. Nothing says "fun" like a Monday morning spent in the gynecologists office. Since my husband keeps hounding me to have another baby, I thought I would take the opportunity to ask about the risks for a woman who is 35 and semi-insane. My Dr. told me that since I am 35, I am now considered in the AMA category. What is AMA, you ask? Advanced Maternal Age. I was strangely offended by that term, but I did ask her to send me home with a Dr's excuse to give hubs so that I can get out of childbirth again.

-I am in love with shaved ice.

-Since learning on Monday that I am of Advanced Maternal Age, I have been noticing some signs that go along with my condition. I have seen some age spots on my face, I am tired all the time, and pretty irritable too. They say your eyesight is the first thing that goes, or is is your hearing? Cant remember. ;-)

-Have I mentioned that I am not an Obama fan, yet I fear that he will be our President for the next 8 years? If I haven't mentioned that before, let me mention it now.

-You know those little pink and white cookies that are shaped like animals and have those little colored round sprinkles on them? I love 'em.

-Having seen my picture (and some of you having seen me in person), does anyone have any pictures or suggestions for a hair change for me? I am willing to cut it, but not too short - chin length is my limit or I am willing to leave it the same length (shoulder) and have it styled differently. Please submit your suggestions in the comments section of this blog. Thank you for your time and more importantly "Thank you for your support".

-Remember the ants I told you about that have come back to their summer home, which is also my home? Had the exterminator come last Thursday. He said not to worry if they get worse before they get better because that is normal. Unfortunately, they have gotten worse and it is almost a week later! These ants love their summer home - who knew our house was a virtual tropical paradise for so many - we dont even have a pool (or a large bathtub for that matter). Called the exterminator back.......he will be coming on Friday morning. All I can say to those ants is: At least you will die in a place that you love.

-Can anyone help me understand atheism? I am having a hard time with it. On the other blog that I blog on (say that real fast 10 times) there are a lot of angry/semi-militant atheists who say 'not so nice' things. I think I will come up with a whole post about their arguments. If there is one thing those atheists love, its a good argument. I really do not believe that there is a such thing as an atheist. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you. To be an atheist, you say that there is no God. To say such would make you all-knowing, and we all know that no human is all-knowing. So, really there is no such thing as an atheist. Maybe agnostic, but not atheist. They all use the same arguments over and over - it's like they go to school for it. That's it, I think they all go to "satan's Day School For Atheists". Anyway, I think it takes a lot more faith NOT to believe in God than it does to believe. Most atheists believe in evolution. Now which takes more faith: To believe that the whole world evolved from a slimy puddle of goo or that there is a Creator that made everything? Everything I have ever seen has a creator. If I get angry comments from God-haters because of this - don't worry, I am used to them.

-Yesterday, Kaden had to use the bathroom and wouldn't, so Lake looked at me and said "You should give him a suppositorium".

-I am behind on my blog reading - a little busy over here, please forgive me. I am off to work at the new house. When we move in I wonder if we will still call it "the new house"? I suppose I wont have to worry about that for a long time - ugh! Anyway, thank you for reading my ramblings (except those of you who skipped to the bottom -to you guys I say - I hate you missed all the exciting, juicy stuff in the middle ;-) Have a wonderful Thursday!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

*Okay, if you read my previous post, which was written at nearly 3 am last night (or should I say today? Who knows?), you will know that hubs and I started working at the new house (I know I need to update the picture, but that stinkin Easy Share just isnt cooperating) around 3:30 pm yesterday and got home around 3 am this morning. I spent the entire time (with the exception of a glorious 30 minutes that we spent at A&W in the air conditioning drinking a large Pepsi and eating a chicken sandwich - yep, we are TN rednecks for sure) vacuuming the entire floor of the house with a shop-vac. For those of you who are not familiar with a shop-vac, let me explain......A shop-vac is a very powerful vacuum cleaner that will suck up even the strongest/largest of dirt/rocks - it will suck up the floor and everything under it - it will suck up the worms from out of the earth under the floor - Yes, it's that powerful. It is a tool that when used correctly will make anyone bend over and you will feel the need to pull for dear life (else it will suck you up too).

Our new house is not tiny. I suctioned every square inch of it with that amazing machine (with the exception of the kitchen, which hubs did because he felt sorry for me - he was carrying junk out of the house while I was vacuuming - it is hard being a contractor when you really are not a contractor). I bent over for hours and hours. The worst part is that our house has no air. No, I don't mean that it has no air conditioning, although that is true as well ---I mean there was no air stirring in the place. We had the windows open, but there was no air to be found until around 1:30 am. Stifling is a word that comes to mind.

Since there was no air, you can imagine how hot we were. Sweat. Tons of it. I don't normally sweat - I can take an hour and a half long aerobics class and barely break a sweat. I'm just not a sweater (I don't mean the knit kind - well, you know what I mean). But, last night I was dripping wet. Now, I ask you, if I do this kind of work often (which I do lately - I am waiting on hubs to come and get me so we can unload some sheet rock right now - I am such a manly man), why am I not skinny??????? Where is the justice in this world??????

Anyway, my back hurts - alot.

*Got into bed around 3:30 am - hubs was back up before 7 am. What is up with that internal alarm clock thing. I know lots of people who have it. Glad I 'm not one of them.

*VBS stuff has been purchased, but everything is not ready. Have lots of cutting and sawing. If I could get my dern Kodak EasyShare stuff to work right, I would show you.........(again, no smart comments about the Easy Share from you people with the Nikons with the long things sticking out on the front - I am not a photographer and I don't play one on TV - heck, I cant even get my Easy Share software to work right).

*For those of you who were wondering, all the ants of the world have made it safely to their summer home. The sad part is that their summer home is also my home. The exterminator comes at 1 pm today. Praise the Lord!

*Last time the exterminator came (he comes every 6 months to check for termites -like you care about that), it took me about 25 minutes to move all the stuff from in front of the door that leads to the basement. We have a scary basement - never go down there. Matter of fact I store all my junk right in front of the door - you know, just in case someone tries to enter our home from the scary basement. If they try, they will kill themselves on all the junk - that is if they could even get the door open. The embarrassing part is when you don't remember the exterminator guy is coming and you have to remove all this junk while he stands over you. All the while you are trying to explain why you have all this junk stored here and that you really are not a pig even though your house looks like a pig stye. Hope that never happens to you.

*My mom posted about her wild ride from last week.......I will never again see Med-Flight go over my house without thinking of my mother. Our house is in the flight pattern of where she was picked up, so by the time I got the call that she was on it, I looked out and saw it going over head - it was carrying my mommy - sick feeling!

*Okay, that is about as much boredom and random griping that you can take for one day. Thanks to all of you who have actually read this far (mom, dad). I have to go and move the stuff from in front of my basement door now - the exterminator will be here in about 3 hours - that should give me just enough time.

Well, Patty, since you asked what I have been doing......it is 2:30 am and I just got home from vacuuming out our whole new house and when I say the whole thing, I mean the whole entire burning hot humongous thing. My back will never be the same- from now on I will to be referred to as "Hunchback". My feet ache. Had to call the grandparents and ask if the kids could spend the night.....I hate it when they aren't in their beds. I just went into Lakes room and smelled his pillow. He told Kaden yesterday not to be sad when mommy has to go and work at the new house because I have to get it done so we can be together again. UGH!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Last night, while working on VBS stuff we watched Joel Osteen on 60 Minutes (okay I didn't go to church last night - we haven't been home for more than sleep in a week and we really needed the rest - and yes that is an excuse - but honestly, we never miss church). I have always been skeptical (to say the least) of Osteen's message. As I watched him, I saw a man who is trying to promote himself while throwing in a little bit of God. Apparently he hasn't heard that God will not share the spotlight.

Osteen's message of finding joy, wealth, health, and happiness is not from God. Of course there is nothing wrong with any of those things, but I do not for one minute believe that God intends for a Pastor, especially one with such a large following, to continually preach such a shallow feel-good message. What about the blood? What about sin? What about repentance? Where is the cross in Osteen's message of how to live your best life?

Here is an example of Osteen's gospel. It doesn't match up with what my Bible says:

I know some people might be saying, "Wow, she is really being hard on this Osteen guy". Maybe I am, but the truth of the matter is that the Gospel is being watered down tremendously by the Osteens of the world. He is just one of many (and one who happens to be highly accessible on youtube). There are examples all over America (and everywhere else) of "Pastors" who refuse to preach the real Word of God and worry more about making people feel good than about seeing souls saved.

I suppose with all the fame that comes along with being a preacher of a mega church, self-promotion is expected. It would be easy to lose sight of the Goal while signing books and seeing yourself on television everyday. Also, there are so many who don't really want to hear the Truth - they WANT the watered down version so they can continue to do what they have always done without having to change their lives and do what Jesus asks them to do. The feel-good version is the easy version, but what is right is not always easy. Jesus didn't say things would be easy for us, actually quite the opposite. Remember when He said people would hate us because of our love for Him? Yeah, that's not easy.

The sad part here is that I see a little of Joel Osteen in myself at times. Don't we all love a pat on the back? A little 'good job' goes a long way for most of us. So many times we say we don't want any credit, all the while our hearts are crying "look at me, look at me". Sometimes we witness with an attitude of haughtiness - I am saved, I go to church - you should do the same, be like me. We do things in the church for our own praise and not the praise of the Most High. When we are placed in a position of leadership, don't we want people to comment on how Godly we are? How spiritually mature we are? How God is using us? Sometimes.

God detests it when we honor ourselves and when we allow others to honor us instead of honoring Him. It is His pedestal, not ours. His throne, not ours. For His glory, not our own. All eyes on Him. All hearts and heads bowing to Him. All our wills bent in submission to Him. We have nothing without Him - we are nothing on our own. IT'S ALL ABOUT HIM. All of it. Everything we do, say, and think --Him. Only Him.

God is disgusted by our self-glorification and I pray that I would be disgusted by it in my own life. I pray that God would rid me of any arrogance, self-promotion and pride that I currently possess and that He would keep me from falling into the trap of glorifying myself in the future. I want to be a speaker of Truth that leads people to the Throne of Grace, not someone who spreads a feel-good Gospel that leads people to eternal hell. I want me to be invisible so that Jesus can be seen in all His glory.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Okay, I promised that I would show you all the flip flops that I received in Alana'sBloggy Flip Flop swap. The problem is that since I got this new computer, I have not been able to get my pictures downloaded from my camera (it is just a Kodak Easy Share - it shouldn't take a rocket scientist! And no laughing at my Easy Share camera Cassie! We are not all professionals - some of us even stink at being amateurs).

So, anyway, I am posting this picture, but please know that these are not the actual flip flops but an exact representation of them (in other words: the flips in this pic look exactly like the ones I got - only mine don't have the unsightly string tying them together). The great thing about these kicks is that I have almost nothing to wear with them. Of course, you girls know what that means, right? For you men who are reading this, let me explain: Since I have nothing to wear with them, I will be forced against my frugal will to buy something that matches or it would be a waste of a perfectly fine pair of shoes and just a downright crying shame.

I need to say a big thank you to Janet at Life With the Wisners for sending these to me. Thank you, Janet, for sending me the flip flops and for creating an occasion for me to buy something for myself. I have enjoyed reading your blog and I know that the people who read my blog will enjoy it also - so everyone go check out the Wisners!

If you will recall, my friend Kellie (who is the wife of our music minister and has quite a set of lungs herself) and her family got the call to go to Korea to pick up their new daughter, Elizabeth. (Isn't that a beautiful name? I have heard that only beautiful people are named Elizabeth. ;-) I have to say she is cute as she can be. You guys will want to go to her blog to see pictures. They are still in Korea, but set to come home tomorrow. Pray for this family and baby Elizabeth as they all transition and pray for Elizabeth's foster mother who will miss her very much. Also pray for our church family that we don't squeeze little Elizabeth's chubby little cheeks off and make her afraid of all Americans.

I have mentioned before that I am the VBS preschool craft person. I thank you for all your suggestions as to crafts for our Cactus Canyon VBS which is in 2 weeks. Oh wait, THERE WERE NO SUGGESTIONS!!! Apparently, I didn't make myself clear when I said I need help, people!!!! I am way behind here. I will probably be up all night trying to come up with craft ideas and then all day tomorrow shopping for supplies. We got a late start on VBS as a whole, and then I got an even later start because I have been so dern busy for the past few months. I am so behind the eight ball.

My bloggy friend, Rochelle, recently returned from Israel. She has lots of pictures on her blog from her trip. You will have to scroll way down to see all of them. Why is it that pictures of Israel always make me cry? If I could go on only one more trip in my entire life, I would pick Israel. And if you knew how much I love my vacations, you would know that is HUGE! Go over to Rochelle's blog and check out all the cool pics!

It is after midnight as I type this. We had t-ball at 7:05 pm (TBS time for you Braves fans). Then I had to go to Wal-Mart to get gas and groceries. But my kids were hungry so we had to eat at the evil McDonald's inside our Wal-Mart. Hubs is OOT and we get to sleep until we are done tomorrow, so I took my time and we ended up getting home around 11 o'clock. Good mothers had their kids in bed by 9:00 pm. Then there's me. My kids went to bed at 11:30 pm. I would like to say that I feel guilty about that, but I don't. Strangely, I don't.

The huge box of Goldfish crackers at Wal-Mart used to be $5.48. Now that same huge box costs $6.68. Gas prices are even hurting my kids snacking habits (or are they helping them? Don't know which).

I was lifting a case of bottled water tonight and something in my shoulder popped and I thought I might scream. Tears came to my eyes and I froze for about 3 minutes. Luckily this was a quiet night at the Wal-Mart or I would have been so embarrassed. At our new house, I work like a regular manly man. I can lift concrete blocks, load bricks and bags of mortar, but I pick up some bottled water and almost get a hernia.....what's up with that?

Speaking of The Wal-Mart (I am speaking of it alot tonight and for that I am truly sorry), here in TN we say "the" before everything. We say The Wal-Mart, The K-Mart, lots of people here work at The Eastman, etc. Most of us know better, but we say it anyway. Kind of like I know that "ain't" ain't a word, but I say it anyway.

There is a girl at Lake's school whose name is Alexis. Her brother plays on Lake's t-ball team, so Alexis is always at the games. Kaden thinks Alexis hung the moon and he looks so forward to playing with her while his brother plays ball. Tonight on the way in the gate Kaden said, "I think I love Alexis a little bit --you know, like a girlfriend". Like a girlfriend? He's four years old! That's it. No more "Suite Life of Zach and Cody" for my baby.

I love that school is out. I sooooooo love it. Did I mention that occasionally we get to sleep til we're done? Can somebody say Hallelujah?

Like Fran, I am so sick of all the Obama/Clinton junk in the media. For that matter, I am sick of hearing about McCain too. Would someone please send us a real candidate for President? The ones we have are either shady, closet Muslims, proven liars OR just plain boring to the point of almost being dead. Can I get an Amen?

FYI: Did you know that it is possible to go cross-eyed from looking at paint samples?

Ya'll I am tired. I don't mean a little tired, I mean the kind of tired where your body aches and you dont know where you're at most of the time. I know I shouldn't have, but I bought this spray stuff that is supposed to give you energy. You spray five squirts under your tongue and it is supposed to give you an energy boost. They shouldnt be allowed to put those point of purchase items in the checkout line, because there is a sucker born every minute and I am one of them. I am such an easy sell, if you tell me something will make me skinny, younger, or more energetic, I will buy it every time...EVERY TIME! The funny thing about this spray stuff is that it really works for me. I noticed an increase in energy the first time I used it. It will probably eventually make my teeth and hair fall out or give me a nervous tick, but for now it works and at this point, that is all that really matters.

I cannot remember ANYTHING. I forget EVERYTHING. I am afraid it is early onset of Altzheimer's. I would blame it on that energy spray, but this has been going on for a year and I just bought that stuff a week ago. I heard that taking bee pollen helps your memory. I need a whole hive of bees to help me. A couple of days ago, after telling me something for the 12th time, my husband said "You can't remember anything anymore" . Now, normally I would protest and defend myself, but I simply agreed, because for once, he was right.

Okay, I have prolonged the VBS misery long enough. Time to scour the WorldWideWeb for fun and exciting craft ideas for children 5 and under. I will be back in a day or two with another interesting blog post....that is if I can remember my blog address.